Is it profitable to raise rabbits for meat at home?

Rabbit breeding as a business - the idea is not new, but, despite this, it is not very popular. Farmers prefer to breed other animals, such as pigs or cows, whose meat is in high demand... It is very rare to find a rabbit on store shelves or in the market. Although its meat is considered dietary and highly valued by consumers.

Rabbit business - underdeveloped niche, and this is its main advantage. The low level of competition and the demand for fresh homemade meat will allow farmers to easily start their own business and achieve high results in it.

Raising rabbits as a business: is it profitable?

People who own a large farm have the opportunity to breed several types of animals for themselves. For example, when engaged in pig breeding, they keep several cows for their own consumption. Rabbits are usually kept in small quantities in order to feast on delicious meat themselves and treat neighbors. Is it profitable to breed rabbits for sale? Let's consider several aspects.

1. Rabbit meat - a rather rare product that can not always be found in pavilions or supermarkets. Chicken, beef, pork and even turkey are some of the most common meat products. It can be concluded that rabbit breeding as a business is in its infancy, and this is a great chance to become the one who can take this business to the next level.
2. The rabbit has proven itself well as early maturing animal... On average, one female is capable of producing 55-60 cubs per year. The age at which rabbits can be sold is 3 months. During this time, small rabbits turn into individuals weighing up to 4-5 kg. There are also larger relatives, which is not always good. Since selling a carcass weighing more than 5 kg is a little problematic.
3. To start a rabbit business, no big start-up capital required... As the saying goes, "Moscow was not built right away." It is enough at first to organize a mini-farm, which is quite simple to do. The cages do not take up much space and can be kept in a shed or other utility room. As for the feed, the bulk (grass and hay) can be made by yourself.

Still, rabbit breeding as a business: profitable or not? If in doubt, here's a powerful argument: it's not just meat that brings in income, but also animal skins. Rabbit breeding is a pretty promising business, which does not require huge investments and can be developed at home. To start doing this, you need to know the basics of creating a farm.

How to start a rabbit farm?

First of all, you need to decide on the organizational and legal component of your activities. There are two options here: an individual entrepreneur or a personal subsidiary farm. Each of them has its own pros and cons. In the first case, you will have to pay taxes, but there will be more opportunities for development. So what does it take to breed rabbits?

Same

Cells

Unlike raising the same pigs or cows, this business does not need a huge territory. You can organize the breeding of rabbits at home. First you need buy or make most animal cages ... Of course, the first option is easier to implement, but in this case, the farm equipment will "pour out" to the owner a rather large sum.

The zoo market offers a wide range of cages of different quality and different prices: from 10 thousand rubles and more. No more than 4 animals can be placed in each cage. In order to keep 20 rabbits in the simplest structures, you need to spend 50 thousand rubles.

There is a second option: to build your own "housing" for your pets. It is not necessary to have unique knowledge for this. You can make cages from the simplest and cheapest materials, such as ordinary boards, slats, nets or boxes. But you need to adhere to the basic rules:

• Rabbits are a kind of rodent. It is necessary to provide for the fact that they can gnaw their way out of their house;
• The cage should be spacious;
• Good ventilation, that is, air stagnation must not be allowed;
• It is advisable to build the floor from a mesh so that it is convenient to remove the cage;
• Free access to drinker and feeder.

When organizing a farm, you need to take into account that it is necessary to build separate houses for females at the time of the appearance of the cubs. It is not recommended to keep males in the same cage with females for a long time, they need to be housed separately. Newly born animals are best placed in the same house with their mother, since other rabbits can gnaw on someone else's offspring.

Feed

Rabbits not picky about food, although rather gluttonous. They feed mainly on grass and grain crops. If you have your own plot, in the summer you can practically not spend money on the purchase of feed. For 20 rabbits, you will need about a bag of fresh grass every day.

The peculiarity of these animals is that they eat a lot, but in small portions... This means that you cannot pour out the entire daily supply in front of them. There is a chance that the food will go to waste, and the rabbits will remain half-starved. The fact is that they are quite clean, and if the food gets dirty, they will not eat it. Woody shoots, apples, stale bread and vegetables are perfect as food.

Livestock

Breeding rabbits as a business should start with buying a small number of animals: one male and three females is enough to start. But first you need to decide on the breed of animals. If a farmer wants to raise rabbits for selling meat, then white and gray giant rodents are perfect. Fur is valued more by Rex rabbits and Soviet chinchillas. Moreover, the meat of these animals is also of pretty good quality.

It is better to acquire rabbits in breeding farms, which will be responsible for the breed and quality. As with any business, you first need to draw up a business plan. A rabbit farm will only benefit the owner if he will raise rabbits both for the sale of meat and for the sale of fur. Animals of the breed white giant, chinchilla and flanders will be an excellent choice for a farmer. They gain weight quickly, breed well and have high-quality fur. You can try to take animals of different breeds in order to understand in the future which ones are easier and more convenient to work with.

Inventory

Rabbit breeding requires a certain structure and equipment. In fact, the inventory for keeping and breeding animals does not differ in its novelty and uniqueness. We need the same feeders, cages, drinkers, without which no farm can do. To clean the houses, you need to purchase brooms, buckets, carts. For the convenience of this process, it is recommended to put pallets in the cages, which can be easily removed and cleaned of manure. If possible, you can purchase a grain grinder to simplify the feeding process.

Rabbit Breeding Business Plan

Experienced entrepreneurs unanimously declare that competently drawn up business plan - half the battle. Decide how many rabbits you need to buy, what will be required to keep them. It is important that the plan indicates specific numbers from which you can build on when calculating.

The largest expense item is initial investment... Most of the funds are spent on documenting their activities, acquiring or leasing territory (if they do not have their own land), and building the necessary premises. These costs also include the purchase of equipment, as well as the first livestock.

A business plan for a rabbit farm should also contain information on fixed costs, such as: buying feed, veterinary services, electricity, water, renting premises or territory (if any).

And, of course, where without income. It is necessary to roughly calculate how much profit the sale of meat and the sale of fur will bring. These are the main articles of a competent business plan. On average, a rabbit farm pays for itself in six months, so farmers have every chance that animal breeding will become a successful project.

Calculating the profitability of a rabbit breeding business

In order to determine whether it is profitable to keep rabbits for breeding, you need calculate the possible profit... If we consider the option that the farmer does not have a large start-up capital to create an industrial business, we will analyze the situation with the purchase of three rabbits and one male of the white giant breed.

To keep rabbits in comfortable conditions, you need to prepare 10 equipped cages (4 for each animal and 6 for future offspring). If the farmer decides to build houses for the animals himself, then the cost of material for one cage will be about 1,000 rubles. It turns out that 10 such buildings will take about 10 thousand rubles.

The cost of rabbits of this breed on average ranges from 1 to 1.5 thousand rubles. If you count to a minimum, then you need to spend 4 thousand rubles to buy animals.

Trying to mate rabbits immediately after purchase is not recommended. It is necessary to give the animals time to adapt, 2 weeks will be enough. Then you can already send the rabbits for mating. Taking into account the gestation period (1 month), the first cubs will appear after 2 months. Let's summarize:

• 3 females in 2 months will bring about 15 young rabbits;
• Uterus 2 months after giving birth are ready for a new pregnancy, respectively, after another month they will bring another 15 rabbits;
• Then (after the same 2 months) the farmer can connect already new young females. If you expect that there will be 6 young rabbits, then in a month, together with the first queens, all together they will bring 45 rabbits.

In less than a year, the business owner will have at his disposal about 100 individuals. The cost of equipping the farm and the initial maintenance of the animals will amount to about 20 thousand rubles. If we assume that 30 rabbits will be sold monthly, then the owner will receive a good profit. If you sell the same 30 rabbits a month at a price of 300 rubles / kg with an average weight of 4-5 kg, then the profit will be about 40 thousand rubles. Thus, we can say that the profitability of rabbit breeding is positive. And if you add to this the sale of fur, you can earn even more. Setting up a rabbit farm as a business with good planning will help the farmer reach the next level of income.

Tips for Beginner Farmers

Rabbit breeding, as we found out, is quite a lucrative business, but not everything is so simple and smooth. Some recommendations from experienced rabbit breeders:

1. Keep a close eye on the cleanliness in the cages, because rabbits are prone to various epidemics that spread with unearthly speed. So, all livestock can be lost in a few days.
2. Select food carefully. Many herbs contain poison, so you need to be careful with your food choices.
3. Not all rabbits are distinguished by love for their offspring. There are those who abandon the rabbits. They need to be closely monitored and not allowed to mate anymore.
4. Before starting to act, it is necessary to draw up a business plan for rabbit farming, where every detail will be painted. If the farmer cannot do such work on his own, there are special organizations that do this on a professional level. For a small fee, you can get a detailed business plan to help you start your own business.

Attention, only TODAY!

What ideas for organizing your own business can not be found in our time in print and on the Internet! Those who have at least a modest summer cottage (not to mention a spacious rural house with a personal farm) are given out in the form of recommendations a breakthrough of ideas - from growing oyster mushrooms in the basement to organizing an ostrich farm.

Among those thinking of starting their own business, the rabbit breeding business is becoming more and more popular. But you should know: for your business to be truly profitable, you need a clear understanding of the specifics of such an industry. In this article, we will talk about what features are involved in the cultivation of these fluffy animals, whether it is profitable to breed rabbits, or still not.

Why rabbit meat is useful

There are mainly three types of meat on the counters of supermarkets and grocery stores. We are talking about pork, beef and lamb. Meanwhile, rabbit meat has a number of advantages in terms of quality, taste and benefits for the human body. That is, this market niche can still be considered relatively free.

The assimilation of rabbit meat by the human body is better and more productive than beef or pork. This indicator - the percentage of digestibility - in this case reaches 90% against the usual 60% in other types of meat. And thanks to its low fat content, rabbit meat is a wonderful dietary product.

Thus, if you have an excellent, tasty and healthy food product in stock, combined with low competition in this segment, you can confidently predict the high profitability of the chosen business. That is, the answer to the question whether it is profitable to breed rabbits is definitely positive.

Typical business signs

What are the features inherent in domestic rabbit breeding? The main one is the high reproductive capacity of these animals. The bearing of cubs by a female lasts 30 days, and re-fertilization is possible almost immediately after giving birth. The productivity of an adult rabbit during the year is about 200 cubs. In terms of a healthy product, this is about 500 kilograms of rabbit meat.

They are bred for different purposes. Rabbit breeds for breeding for meat are gray or white giant, as well as ram. In order to obtain fluffy fur, they choose rex, butterfly, white down. In addition, it is possible to breed decorative rabbits. There are also universal options. For example, Soviet chinchillas or gray giants are breeds of rabbits for breeding for meat and obtaining skins at the same time.

Good care and proper nutrition are very important in the breeding process. The more comfortable the living conditions, the more high-quality the mating will be and, as a result, the health of the little rabbits. The number of mating can be increased by minimizing the number of stress factors. And without high-quality balanced nutrition, it makes no sense to talk about animal health.

Pros and cons of rabbit farm

What are the advantages of this business over other livestock options? Its main advantages are high profitability, short payback period, minimal competition and stable demand. The combination of these factors looks very attractive, but at the same time, some negative points should be taken into account.

So, for the quality maintenance of these clean animals in the cages, regular (that is, daily) cleaning is required. Otherwise, the entire livestock may be susceptible to disease. Shy animals grow and reproduce well only in a calm, supportive atmosphere without even minimal stress.

The rabbits need to be constantly monitored. In the absence of food and even water, the rabbit is able to eat its own offspring. Breeding rabbits at home for beginners can seem troublesome and not easy at first.

Getting down to business

Where to start breeding rabbits? In what form is business possible in this area? There are two such varieties: either in the form of individual entrepreneurship, or with the organization of a peasant farm. The first option is especially popular with those starting from scratch. Its main advantage is a decrease in the tax base and a simplified accounting scheme. Having decided to organize a farm, you can count on receiving subsidies from the state.

But in any form of activity, success depends in no small way on a well thought out business plan.

Rabbit farming as a business: where to start?

Before you start creating your own rabbit farm, as in any type of business, you should analyze the potential sales market, paying attention to a number of important characteristics. We are talking about the saturation of the market, the presence of a potential buyer in an accessible proximity, the degree of intensity of competitive activity and the solution of transport issues.

Having clarified the situation for yourself, you can proceed to the next step - the choice of a land plot. Its area should be at least 15 acres, and your future rabbit breeding farm must be located away from housing.

Having bought or rented a land plot, you can start arranging your planned business. Initial financial investments can be quite significant, but due to the short payback periods and high profitability of this type of activity, this is not a problem.

Is it profitable to breed rabbits compared to, say, chinchillas or nutria? The capacity of your business can be increased many times over due to the high reproductive qualities of animals, and this is a considerable additional advantage. In general, the breeding of any pets, like other types of agricultural business, is very, very in demand these days.

What should be on your site

The next step of a businessman-rabbit breeder will be the compilation of a list of buildings, the presence of which on the site is mandatory. Each of them should be placed on the plan of the site allocated for the future company. What applies to such buildings?

• Sheds. This is the name of the premises where the rabbits will live and reproduce. Such "industrial" rabbit cages are made of wood with windows tightened with welded mesh. The more comfortable it is for rabbits to wear sheds, the better the breeding process will be, and the less fears about the health of the pets will be experienced by the owner. The minimum number of sheds is from 3 pieces.
• Shop for feed. This is a kind of warehouse where rabbit feed can be stored for the next few months. If you do not spare the money and equip the feed shop with a granulator, as well as a grain crusher, the costs will pay off quickly enough.

• The slaughterhouse must have a fully equipped butcher shop and a spacious refrigerator. Due to the high requirements of hygiene, the materials for its construction are metal-plastic and tiles.
• In a separate shed, you should keep tools, equipment and necessary building materials.

A spacious manure pit should be dug near the site. With its regular replenishment, it is possible to sell manure as fertilizer to nearby farmers.

What are rabbits for?

When starting to breed livestock, decide on the tasks of growing, from here already plan the methods of breeding rabbits. What is your goal - skins, meat, or both? Having understood this issue, choose the right breed. Let's say your choice is gray giant rabbits. Breeding, growing and caring for them requires certain knowledge.

For beginners, it would be most reasonable to acquire one of the purebred breeds belonging to the local. They are generally affordable, easy to purchase and can be consulted with other breeders.

Then start drawing up a business plan with upcoming expenses and incomes outlined in it. In addition, you should take care of registering your own business.

What is better for a future rabbit breeder - to buy a plot or rent? It depends not only on the size of the initial investment, but also on the long-term goals of the future businessman. If you decide to take up this profitable business seriously, it is better to purchase a plot of land. When rent is due, the monthly cost of covering it must be included in the business plan.

About rules and regulations

When breeding rabbits, a number of sanitary requirements must be met that exist to prevent disease in a rabbit environment. In this regard, there are certain rules according to which the premises for the rabbit livestock are designed, up to the slope of the roof and the construction of floors.

Other requirements relate to the location of buildings within the site. The slaughterhouse must be at least 50-60 m away from the rabbit cages. Sick rabbits should be quarantined, 100 meters away from the sheds. The manure storage also needs to be removed outside the farm - no closer than 100 meters. All distances are given in the direction of the prevailing winds.

What and how to feed rabbits

In food, these animals are quite whimsical compared to other types of farm animals. Their daily diet requires a mandatory combination of different types of feed - green (herbs, cereals, legumes), juicy, such as vegetables or root crops, coarse and silage, as well as concentrated, consisting of bran, grain or compound feed.

To calculate the need for the amount of feed, we proceed from the fact that a set of 4 kilograms by one animal requires about a dozen kilograms of hay and 15 kg of compound feed. Other elements serve as dietary supplements at different times of the year. In the warm season (spring and summer), be sure to feed the rabbits with green and roughage; in autumn and winter, do not neglect silage and succulent ones.

Breeding rabbits at home for beginners can come with a number of surprises. Controlling the freshness and balance of the feed is very important. There should not be the slightest trace of rot or mold in it. Too dry food is also not welcome - animals are able to choke on it.

About rabbit housing

Do not forget that these animals belong to rodents, that is, the cages must be constructed of high-quality and durable material.

Rabbits are more comfortable than poultry or nutria. The range of temperatures suitable for their normal life is from 2 to 30 degrees, but the quality conditions for growth and reproduction involve maintaining them in the range from 13 to 26 degrees.

There are several known methods by which the habitats of these animals are settled. Raising rabbits in earthen pits with carefully reinforced floors and walls is the easiest of all. This method is one of the lowest cost, but it is used exclusively for meat breeds.

What are the cells

Most often, they choose to breed rabbits in aviaries. The most popular household methods include the so-called cellular. The material for the construction of the cages is wooden planks combined with a metal mesh.Rabbits and offspring are housed separately from male rabbits.

The shed method already mentioned above is a system of several tiers of cells. The main advantage of this option is compact placement, which is important in a small area of ​​the site.

It is also possible to maintain the so-called Mikhailov system, which is a small farm of three or four cells. Each of the mini-farms is equipped with ventilation, a manure collector, and, of course, drinkers and feeders. This method is most effective for quality growth and reproduction. But it also requires the greatest financial costs.

Where to sell?

Let's talk now about the sale of the received products. Its directions should be considered, starting from the volumes of the future economy. If they are small (about 500 rabbits annually), the meat can be handed over for sale or sold independently, subject to a sanitary and epidemiological check.

With large volumes of the farm, you will need to obtain some additional documents. We are talking about a certificate for a farm, the same phytosanitary one and a GOST-R declaration. If you complete all of the above, at the same time as trading on the market, you will have the opportunity to sell meat to supermarkets and grocery stores.

Indicative business plan for breeding rabbits

Let's draw up and analyze an approximate business plan for setting up a small farm with a hundred livestock units. What are the costs?

The process of building rabbit cages will cost about 50,000 rubles, for the purchase of one hundred heads of young animals, add about 30,000 more rubles. (the exact amount depends on the breed), from 70,000 to 150,000 rubles. have to be spent on the purchase of feed. Add about 20,000 rubles more. for veterinarian services, utilities and other trifles. Total: the expenditure part of the business plan can contain a figure from 170,000 to 250,000 rubles.

Now about income

Meat from 100 rabbits will make about 200 kilograms. With a wholesale price of 200 rubles. per kilo and retail - 400 rubles. it is possible to actually sell all products for an amount of about 400,000 rubles. For the proceeds of the skins - in addition from 250 to 300 thousand rubles, let's take an average of 280,000. Total: the level of estimated income is about 600-800 thousand rubles.

It is easy to calculate the planned profit, which will be in the range of 430,000-510,000 rubles. Such profitability is considered to be very high, that is, this business is among the most profitable.

Even within the framework of the small farm given as an example, during the first year it is possible to get about half a million rubles as a profit. In the future, this figure will increase even more, since it will not be necessary to spend more on the construction of new cells. As a result, the profitability figure for such a business ranges from 60% to 80%.

Things to Remember

Of course, the above business plan for breeding rabbits is very conditional. Figures can vary significantly due to breed and number of copies purchased, as well as the size of the initial investment. Much also depends on the region where the business is planned.

Among other things, there are no rental costs in this plan (if any). Such spending can also vary greatly both in the region and in the area of ​​the territory. Equipment depreciation should also be considered. But in general, the above calculation gives a general idea of ​​the profitability of the business in question.

Conclusion: such an activity in terms of money is quite profitable and attractive. And yet, despite the confident "yes!" in response to the question of whether it is profitable to breed rabbits, it should be dealt with only by those who are not afraid of the specifics of this case and the associated difficulties in the form, for example, of the need to slaughter fluffy pets.

Rabbits are not only valuable fur and "3-4 kilograms of dietary easily digestible meat", but a great opportunity to make good money at home.Unfortunately, almost no one thinks about the fact that a fluffy animal can become not only a pet, but also a constant source of additional income, therefore breeding rabbits as a business remains a free and underdeveloped niche.

Raising rabbits as a business: how did it all start?​

I learned that rabbit breeding can be turned into a profitable business by chance at the dawn of a cloudless student youth. At that time, my knowledge of rabbit breeding was limited to a school course in biology: i.e. I imagined that this is a domestic variety of hares, but I have never seen the animal itself closer than in the picture.

Once we, together with the company, were invited to a classmate's birthday party, who was celebrating his majority “at the barbecue” - in his own private house. However, instead of the typical dull viewing of photo albums, the guy proudly showed bored guests ... his own mini-rabbit farm, equipped in a small makeshift barn.

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When the students accustomed to the “computer” life relatively “got out of the stupor,” he said that he has been breeding rabbits since the age of 16, started from scratch and with the income from the “business” he bought himself a motorcycle, pays for his studies at the institute and generally fully supports himself.

Subsequently, we communicated quite a lot with this classmate: until graduation, his business grew and flourished. However, with the receipt of the diploma, the inevitable one and a half years of the army appeared on the horizon, there was no one to entrust the breeding of rabbits for such a long period, and all the animals had to be sold.

However, the fact remains: even a teenager can organize his business on rabbits from scratch, he does not require significant start-up investments, and the profit can be quite solid.

What do you need to breed rabbits?​

So, to grow rabbits at home you will need:

1. Food.

Rabbits eat a lot, while they prefer a complete and balanced diet. However, most of the diet consists of fresh grass, grains and hay: for example, if you have the opportunity to regularly travel out of town, then in the warm season you can feed the eared ones almost “for free”. However, you will not find so much greenery within the city limits: for 20 heads, you will need about a bag of fresh grass every day. At the same time, you need to feed the animals in small portions, but regularly: if you select the entire daily ration at once, then most of the food will be wasted, and the animals will remain half-starved. The fact is that rabbits are by nature quite clean, and if the food gets dirty in a couple of hours (and with cage keeping this is inevitable), they will not eat it.

As a grain, a simple compound feed is suitable, which is sold at any poultry market for about 500 rubles per bag.

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The consumption of grain feed strongly depends on the presence of "home" complementary foods in the diet of the animals: for example, if the owner of the farm has the opportunity to regularly feed the rabbits with vegetables and tops from the garden, then on average one bag will be enough for a couple of weeks (based on the same 20 heads) ...

In addition, young tree shoots, apples and even the remains of stale bread are used for animal feed.

2. Cells.

Of course, you can buy cages for breeding rabbits - the zoo market offers a fairly wide range of designs of varying degrees of complexity. However, in this case, the equipment of the "farm" will cost the owner a pretty round sum: the simplest cage costs about 10,000 rubles, while only 3 - 4 animals can be put there.

Thus, equipment for 20 rabbits will cost about 50,000 rubles.

However, eared houses can be made with your own hands: no talent of a professional carpenter is required for this. So, a friend used wooden slats, ordinary mesh, boards, plywood and even old boxes to make cages.

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It is not necessary to adhere to any design principles here, the main thing is that:

• - the rabbits did not gnaw a hole in their dwelling sufficient to escape;
• - the cage was spacious enough;
• - the air did not stagnate in the cage: if normal air exchange is not ensured, you can lose all livestock in a few days due to an epidemic;
• - the house was easy to clean: so that excrement does not stagnate in the cage, it is advisable to make the floor from a net and place the aviary in a "suspended" state;
• - the animals had easy access to clean water and feeders.

Also, in the enclosures intended for breeding rabbits, it is necessary to provide for separate houses, where the female can build herself a "nest" for the time when young animals appear.

In addition, when designing a farm, you need to consider that:

• - for each male it is necessary to provide a separate cage: it is impossible to keep them with the females on a regular basis, and the rabbits will fight fiercely with their “competitors”;
• - it is advisable to keep only young growth of the same age in each cage;
• - before the appearance of offspring, it is advisable for each female to be provided with a separate cage: the rabbit can gnaw or trample foreign rabbits.

3. Rabbits

To start breeding rabbits as a business from scratch, you can limit yourself to purchasing one male and two or three rabbits: rabbits breed quickly enough, and with a small “primary herd” you will have several months in stock to learn how to properly care for animals.

Particular attention should also be paid to the choice of the breed of domestic rabbits: according to experience in breeding animals for the subsequent sale of meat, it is worthwhile to dwell on the white and gray giant rabbits. But the fur is more appreciated from the Chinchilla rabbits.

Rabbit breeding: a rough business plan with calculations​

So, in order to determine whether it is profitable or not to breed rabbits as a business at home, let's calculate how much you can earn when buying three females and one male of the White Giant breed.

For their maintenance and subsequent placement of the offspring, it is necessary to prepare in advance at least 10 spacious cells: a separate aviary for each individual + 6 cells for the grown offspring.

Based on the approximate size of one cage 150x60x60cm, each enclosure will require:

• - 2 * 0.6 * (1.5 + 1.5 + 0.6) ~ 4.5 sq. meter of metal mesh, the average cost of which is 200 rubles per sq. meter;

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• - 4 * (1.5 + 0.6 + 1.6) ~ 6 meters of a wooden beam (with a cross section of 2.5 cm) - taking into account the placement of cells at a level of 1 meter from the ground. The cost of one bar is ~ 50 rubles.

Thus, the production of each cage will, on average, cost ~ 1,000 rubles (with a margin for fittings), and all the cages will cost the owner about 10,000 rubles.

The cost of one sexually mature rabbit of the White Giant breed is approximately 1,000 rubles, respectively, the "primary herd" will cost the owner 4,000 rubles.

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After purchasing the rabbits, you need to give the animals 1 - 2 weeks for adaptation, after which all the rabbits can be sent for mating at the same time. Thus (with a margin of 14 days for mating and taking into account the gestation period of rabbits ~ 1 month), the first offspring should be expected in 2 months from the purchase of animals.

Puberty in rabbits begins at the age of six months, at the same time, under normal conditions of keeping, the animals reach normal weight for an adult individual (~ 5 kg.)

Rabbits are deposited from their mother at the age of 1.5 months, and after a couple of weeks the female is ready for a new pregnancy. On average, in one litter, a rabbit brings 6 - 8 rabbits, however, not all offspring survive to adulthood, so in the calculations we will be guided by 5 cubs.

So, when breeding rabbits from scratch:

• - 2 months after the purchase of animals, 3 rabbits will bring ~ 15 rabbits;
• - 2 months after the appearance of the first offspring, the rabbit is ready for a new pregnancy and, accordingly, in another month, the same 3 rabbits will bring another 15 rabbits.
• - in another 2 months, the owner of the rabbit farm will be able to mate both the first three females and all young rabbits from the first litter: if you take 7 young females (from the ratio of females and males in the first litter 50/50), then in a month all the rabbits will bring already 15 + 35 = 50 rabbits.

Thus, when breeding rabbits as a business from scratch ~ 10 months from the purchase of the first animals from the owner of the farm, there will be:

• - 4 adult rabbits from the “primary herd”;
• - 15 adult rabbits from the first litter, ready for sale;
• - 15 young ready-to-mate rabbits from the second litter;
• - 50 baby rabbits.

In the future, the owner can maintain a convenient number of livestock, leaving 1 - 2 best males from the litter for mating. Accordingly, at least 30 rabbits will be available for sale monthly.

To feed the entire livestock for a year (taking into account additional "herbal" feeding and the fact that the first month of rabbits mainly feed on milk), it is enough to purchase a couple of bales of hay (~ 1,000 rubles) and bags of 5-6 compound feed (~ 3,000 rubles) ...

In total, all the costs for equipping the farm and the first year of breeding rabbits will amount to about 20,000 rubles.

At the same time, rabbit meat can be sold at a wholesale price at a price of ~ 300 rubles / kg. Accordingly, with a monthly sale of 30 adult rabbits weighing 4 - 5 kg, the monthly profit will be about 40,000 rubles.

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Thus, breeding rabbits as a business is quite profitable: the initial investment will pay off in the first month. At the same time, the profit can be significantly increased by selling not only meat, but also rabbit skins: with a slight dressing, the cost of each skin will be about 150-200 rubles.

Rabbit breeding as a business: who should sell the product?
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In fact, in our country, rabbit meat is still a delicacy product: in small towns, to buy a rabbit for Christmas, you need to stake it in a private store in a month. In ordinary supermarkets, "dietary easily digestible meat" almost never happens. Therefore, with a competent approach, there will be no problems with the implementation of the product:

1. - the simplest way will be a direct contract with the owners of private food shops and small restaurants: the demand for the product remains stable throughout the year. However, for any traditional holidays (May and New Year holidays, Easter, March 8, etc.), it is worth preparing a large batch of meat: these days you can sell almost any volume of a quality product.
2. - You can also negotiate with sellers in the local market: even in a crowded meat department, an exclusive product is in high demand.
3. - Another proven sales channel is direct sales of goods to various organizations: employees of the city polyclinic, kindergartens, local management companies, etc. they are happy to sort out fresh homemade meat, especially if it is delivered directly to the workplace. Therefore, it is worthwhile to go through such institutions in advance and appoint a certain "trading" day for which you can prepare the agreed batch of the product, and your customers can calculate their budget.

In addition, from time to time it is worth conducting "local" advertising campaigns through friends, employees and all kinds of message boards. On the eve of the holidays, you can also post regular advertisements on billboards near shops and bus stops.

Raising rabbits at home: business features​

Despite the fact that breeding rabbits as a business is profitable, and you can organize a home farm with practically no investment, before you start buying animals, you need to take into account several factors:

- Firstly, epidemics often occur in domestic rabbits if they are not properly kept: infections spread with lightning speed and in 2 - 3 days you can lose almost all of the livestock. Therefore, the maintenance of cleanliness in the cages and the care of the hatching female and newborn rabbits should be monitored with special attention.

- Secondly, you need to carefully monitor the composition of the grass mass when you harvest grass and hay yourself: some plants are poisonous for rabbits.In addition, regular visits to suburban fields and transportation of grass causes suspicion among law enforcement officers (there were cases when police officers asked to shake out all the harvested grass and independently checked the "crop" for the absence of hemp and other "dangerous" plants).

- Of course, raising rabbits as a business implies regular care for a large number of animals: you have to remove the cages at least once a day. At the same time, the remains of feed and excrement need to be disposed of somewhere: it is best to agree with local summer residents and farmers on a regular supply of "natural fertilizers".

- Also keep in mind that not all rabbits become good mothers: as practice has shown, about 15% of females abandon their newborn cubs (some individuals gnaw the rabbits immediately after birth). Therefore, it is worth regularly monitoring the maternal qualities of breeding rabbits and not allowing such females to further breeding.

Finally, the moral aspect of the home rabbit breeding business should be considered: in order to regularly supply customers with the finished product, rabbits will have to be constantly cut, skinned and gutted.

A rabbit-based business requires the farmer to organize optimal conditions for keeping animals, depending on the preferred place of breeding - in an open-air cage or a pit, as well as the correct preparation of a business plan for a rabbit breeding enterprise.

The content of the article:

• Raising rabbits: features and subtleties
• Is a rabbit breeding business profitable?
• Rabbit farming as a business: from start to finish
• Optimal conditions for keeping rabbits
• Breeding rabbits in aviaries
• Breeding rabbits in the pit
• Rabbit business plan

Today, the development of rabbit breeding in Russia has far from reached the peak of popularity and production efficiency. Although it should be noted that in rural areas, raising rabbits at home - as part of the household - is a fairly widespread phenomenon.

However, home breeding of rabbits usually does not occur in large quantities. Humans do not need large-scale production to meet their rabbit meat needs. Rabbit meat has a number of beneficial (in comparison with the meat of other animals) properties. Basically, rabbit meat is of interest to people due to its high calorie content with its assimilation by the body in 90%, the content of lecithin, nicotinic acid, proteins in it. At the same time, the level of cholesterol in rabbit meat is very low, therefore it is recommended for people with diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, cardiovascular system.

Raising rabbits: features and subtleties

Despite the fact that rabbit meat has a number of advantages over any other, rabbit farms throughout the Russian Federation can literally be counted on one hand. Experts argue that the problem lies neither in the absence of suitable climatic and environmental conditions for rabbits (moreover, it is believed that these animals are the most unpretentious in terms of keeping conditions, the most fertile), nor in the low demand for meat (according to a social survey, more than 60% of people say they are ready to consume rabbit meat regularly, but they do not always find it on store shelves). What then is the problem of domestic rabbit breeding? After a little reflection, only one assumption remains: inability, an approach without due responsibility and preparation.

In fact, raising rabbits is not considered a difficult task. But this does not mean that you need to tackle it without having any idea of ​​what rabbit farming is. Before starting any business, it is recommended to read the literature about it in order to confirm your decision, or, conversely, to lose faith.

Rabbits are unpretentious to the conditions of detention - they can live both in specially equipped sheds or rabbitries, as well as in certain well-equipped rooms, even in cages or aviaries installed in an open space. To feed rabbits are unpretentious: it is enough only that in the diet of rabbits there were three main types of feed: coarse (hay, straw, tree branches), succulent (various grasses and root crops) and concentrated (nutritious feed: fish or meat and bone meal). Concentrated feeds are more effective in winter. It is also possible to feed rabbits with vitamin complexes in winter.

It is important to carry out prevention against diseases. In practice, this is often expressed in the fact that from time to time farmers give rabbits "silver water", which disinfects the animal's body. As a rule, it is obtained by passing it through silver electrodes, which are in water, poured into a dielectric (non-conductive), for example, a glass container. As a result of the passage of the current, a precipitate in the form of silver ions Ag + remains. Water with silver ions has a bactericidal effect, while it is absolutely non-toxic to animals.

To achieve the maximum profitability of the product, it is recommended to buy exclusively meat breeds of rabbits. Rabbits of such breeds reach marketable weight already at the age of four to five months, while the female rabbit is capable of giving up to 10 okrols, in each of which at least four rabbits, per year. However, of course, these are approximate numbers. Depending on the conditions and breed, the rabbit can give, according to statistics, from 4 to 12 rounds per year. So, according to approximate calculations, one female and her annual offspring give approximately 100 kilograms of marketable meat.

Is a rabbit breeding business profitable?

The profitability of such a business is fairly easy to calculate. For example, if rabbits are slaughtered at four or five months of age (with an animal weighing about three kilograms). On average, one kilogram of rabbit meat costs 300 rubles. From a three-kilogram rabbit, one usually gets one and a half to two kilograms of meat. Thus, the wholesale price of meat for one rabbit is approximately 450 rubles. But it is also recommended to calculate the costs.

So, the cost of buying or leasing land, registration, marketing and other organizational costs can be up to one million rubles. Also, expenses include the purchase of feed, the cost of repairing equipment and premises. Basically, this is what accounts for the expense. Let's say there are 1,000 rabbits on a farm. Of these, 500 are rabbits. With proper care, the female can give from 25 to 60 heads of offspring, which will be from 40 to 120 kg of meat.

So, for a year you can get, on average, 80,000 rubles, which in the second year of work will cover the costs of starting production. Of course, it should be borne in mind that part of the young will die due to many factors, the main of which are diseases and uncomfortable conditions. It should not be forgotten that in order to effectively increase the number of young animals, it is necessary to change the females producing new individuals. If one individual will constantly give offspring for a long time, it will quickly lose its fertility.

As soon as the fertility of the female fades away, she is slaughtered, and another female produces offspring. As a rule, males are replaced every two years, while females are replaced once a year. Subject to all the rules for caring for rabbits, you can get about seven tons of rabbit meat only from the offspring of 100 females. Therefore, it is very important for an enterprise to establish sales channels and a sales market for its products. It turns out that the business of breeding rabbits is profitable if you follow a few simple rules.

Rabbit farming as a business: from start to finish

The first thing to do when starting any business is to settle the regulatory side of the issue. To do this, you must at least register your company.This is where the question arises, how. How exactly is an enterprise registered? A rabbit farm can be arranged in three ways:

1. Peasant farming.KFH has certain advantages over other options, since it has a lighter taxation, such a farm is provided with certain benefits. However, modern legislation creates rather difficult conditions for peasant farms in relation to law: many legal issues, based on the legislative framework, are practically insoluble. The undoubted plus of a peasant farm is that it can be issued both for one or for several people, which allows you to have partners who will also invest in the enterprise.
2. Personal subsidiary farm. If a person owns at least some piece of land - as a dacha or vegetable garden, he is the owner of a private household. To confirm this in the self-government bodies, you must take a certificate stating that you really are the owner of this land plot. This type of economy is not subject to taxes at all, however, it also limits sales markets. So, private household plots have no right to sell their goods to large stores and supermarket chains, any restaurants or cafes. List of documents required for running a private farm for breeding rabbits:
   • Health certificate of rabbits from a veterinarian. This certificate confirms that during the slaughter the rabbits were vaccinated, healthy, and the slaughter did not take place in unsanitary conditions.
   • A certificate from the veterinary laboratory that, based on the results of the analysis of rabbit meat, it can be considered suitable for food.
   • Personal health book of the owner of the private household.
   • Sanitary book for a means of transporting meat.
3. Individual entrepreneurship. There is no getting away from taxation, but the cost of taxes can be reduced as much as possible by choosing a single agricultural tax as a form of taxation of an enterprise. What is ESHN? It is a tax that replaces all other forms of tax. It has the lowest rate - 6% of net profit.

Optimal conditions for keeping rabbits

Plot of land:

1. Site location: suburban areas, at a distance of up to 2 kilometers from residential buildings.
2. The area of ​​the site should not be less than fifteen acres.

Premises:

1. It should be possible to maintain a constant warm temperature in the room when it drops in the environment.
2. The walls, floor and roof of the room must be made so that there are no cracks in them: the room must not be damp, there must be no drafts in it.
3. There must be electricity in the room.
4. There should be a large water reservoir in or near the room.

Breeding rabbits in aviaries

Rabbits are bred in open-air cages. The aviary is a space enclosed by a fence around the perimeter. It is not recommended to keep more than 30 individuals on the territory of one enclosure, and most often the female and her offspring are kept in the enclosures. At the same time, males are not kept in enclosures: they are kept separate from all individuals in a special room, and they are moved into enclosures only during the mating season.

Aviaries are set up on a hill to protect against drowning. The walls of the enclosure are made of any material, while one should be made of mesh. The height of the wall can reach one or two meters. They should be buried in the ground by an average of half a meter. The floor in open-air cages is usually earthen, which allows owners to rarely clean it, and rabbits can dig holes and develop physically.

Breeding rabbits in the pit

Pit device algorithm:

1. Buy a plot for the arrangement of a pit.
2. When choosing a site, look at the number of hills, because it is on them that the pit is being built.
3. The pit should be dry, there should be no rivers, swamp lakes nearby, there should be no underground waters.
4. Keeping a large number of rabbits in pits is undesirable. The maximum permissible pit dimensions are 3x3 meters.Up to 300 rabbits can live in such a pit.
5. The pit should be square, with three walls covered with durable material.
6. The fourth wall should have a depression up to 15 cm high. This depression should be wide enough to accommodate at least two rabbits.

Rabbit business plan

Costs (per year) for a farm of 500-800 rabbits:

1. Purchase (lease) of land, registration: 300,000 rubles.
2. Purchase of equipment: 20,000 rubles.
3. Arrangement of premises: 25,000 rubles.
4. Transportation costs: 15,000 rubles.
5. Marketing expenses: 10,000 rubles.

Suppose there is a female rabbit on the farm, which gives an annual offspring of 25 rabbits, which grow to marketable weight for 4 months. Feeding costs can be up to 33,000 rubles, provided that compound feed costs from 7 to 10 rubles per kilogram.

Income (per year). We have, for example, 500 rabbits. Then about 850 kilograms of meat will come out of this. The price of a kilogram of rabbit meat is up to 200 rubles. Then the income will be 85,000,000.

Thus, we can say with confidence that rabbit farming is a very successful and profitable business, provided that all norms and requirements are met.